AKF and AFD deepen partnership on coastal resilience and regenerative agriculture in Tanzania

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), representing the French Republic, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to advance the sustainable management of marine and coastal ecosystems and the development of regenerative agriculture in Tanzania.

The MOU was signed on 12 May by Éléonore Caroit, France’s Minister Delegate for Francophonie, International Partnerships and French Nationals Abroad; Christophe Lecourtier, Chief Executive Officer of AFD; Shamir Samdjee, Official Representative of the Ismaili Imamat to the French Republic; and Dr. Matt Reed, Director of Institutional Partnerships at AKF.

The signing took place on the margins of the Africa Forward Summit: Africa-France Partnerships for Innovation and Growth, co-hosted by France and Kenya in Nairobi from 11 to 12 May 2026. The Summit was attended by President Emmanuel Macron, President William Ruto and other African heads of state and government.

The MOU establishes a framework for operational collaboration between AKF and AFD in Tanzania across two priority areas. The first focuses on the sustainable management of marine and coastal ecosystems, to be led by the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries of Mainland Tanzania and the Ministry of Blue Economy and Fisheries of Zanzibar. The second targets the development of regenerative agriculture in coastal communities, supporting smallholder farmers in adopting climate-resilient farming systems that improve food security, biodiversity and livelihoods.

A preliminary envelope of €38.5 million is envisaged for the marine ecosystems component, combining resources from AFD and AKF, which would be implemented AKF and technical partners. The agreement builds on a Declaration of Intent signed in Paris in July 2025, pledging support to AKF’s wider, 10-year Indian Ocean ‘ReGeneration’ Initiative, which has already begun working closely with communities on the Tanzanian coast, planting more than 1.7 million mangroves since 2023.

The agreement deepens a partnership between the French Republic, the Ismaili Imamat and the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) that spanning decades and builds on a Declaration of Intent signed in Paris in July 2025. Since the signing of a Partnership Convention in 2008, France and AKDN have collaborated on over 60 projects in 20 countries, with total French funding exceeding $584 million alongside AKDN co-investments – jointly totalling over $1 billion in development work. Sectors of collaboration include health, education, climate adaptation, culture, financial services, infrastructure and tourism.

Eastern Africa has been a particular focus of the partnership. AFD has provided more than $120 million in financing to AKDN for the health sector in the region, supporting the expansion of Aga Khan Hospitals in Dar es Salaam, Kisumu and Mombasa, the establishment of the Heart and Cancer Centre in Nairobi and, most recently, the East Africa Comprehensive Cancer Project to combat women’s cancers in Tanzania and Kenya. Beyond health, the partnership has encompassed education, geothermal energy and climate resilience.

“France’s partnership with the Aga Khan Development Network is one of the most enduring and impactful in our development cooperation. Today’s agreement, signed here in Nairobi at the Africa Forward Summit, demonstrates our joint commitment to addressing the climate and environmental challenges facing the African continent. Together with the Government of Tanzania, we are investing in the sustainable management of coastal ecosystems and in agricultural practices that strengthen food security and community resilience,” said Éléonore Caroit, French Minister Delegate to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

“This memorandum of understanding reflects a shared conviction that the challenges facing coastal communities in East Africa – from the degradation of marine ecosystems to the impacts of climate change on smallholder agriculture – demand collaborative and sustained investment. By combining our resources and expertise, we can support Tanzania in building resilient livelihoods while protecting the natural environments on which those livelihoods depend,” said Dr Matt Reed, Director of Institutional Partnerships at AKF.

The signing of the MOU and Summit were preceded on 10 May by a reception co-hosted by AKDN, the Paris Peace Forum and the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs at the Aga Khan University campus in Nairobi. The Paris Peace Forum is an international platform that brings together governments, civil society and the private sector to strengthen multilateral cooperation and address global challenges. AKDN is a founding member of the Paris Peace Forum.